Quiet Whispers
by Tirainy
Summary: One was a child that was forced to grow up too fast. The other was never allowed to be a one in the first place. Under the starry sky they talk about things most wouldn't understand.


**AN:** I have absolutely no idea what this is. But I definitely had fun writing it.

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**Quiet Whispers**

One was a child that was forced to grow up too fast. The other was never allowed to be a one in the first place. Under the starry sky they talk about things most wouldn't understand.

**TAGs:** One shot, Writing Exercise, Wordcount: under 1.000, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, character study, sort of

****Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.****

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"When I was thirteen, I had my first beer," Sonic confessed with a small smile, green eyes gazing at some point in the night sky. "I absolutely_ hated_ it." The hero let out a small chuckle before turning his gaze to his companion. "It tasted as if I was eating dirt."

"You have a lot of experience with that, don't you?" Shadow jabbed, letting out a somehow amused snort. "I've heard you like to land face first."

Sonic groaned, hiding his face into his drawn-up legs. "Tails told you that, didn't he?"

"Who else?" Shadow asked rhetorically, red eyes locking briefly with their green counterparts once more. "But why were you drinking at that age anyway? You don't tolerate that kind of thing."

"I wanted to know what all the fuss was about in case I..." Sonic made vagues gestures with his hands before touching his left pectoral where a sizable jagged scar could be seen peeking through his fur if the hero shifted just in the right away. "It was spur of a moment thing. I'd just been released from a hospital and managed to catch a glimpse of reportage on the incident that landed me there. People were talking about how Eggman surely was already working on a new scheme and how he could attack any minute and I just..." Sonic closed his eyes, his hand curling into fist around his chest-fur. "It was my first time coming so close to death and I thought about how I might not get so lucky next time. I'd figured I ought to experience more of life before it would be taken from me."

"You didn't think you'd make it to adulthood."

"No."

Shadow hummed, letting the brief silence stretch before confessing himself.

"Neither did I. Back on the ARK."

Green eyes turned to him a clear question in them. Shadow answered.

"When Professor first let me out in the world, he told me that I would be undergoing training. In the early days it was just learning basics like how to walk, talk and such, but quickly I progressed to more physically demanding activities like swimming and later on fighting. After that the experimenting finally began," Shadow recounted, the red eyes getting a far-away look as they stared into the past. "I was pushed to the limits of my abilities—forced to train until my knees buckled under me from exhaustion, had my bones broken and body slashed open so they could see just how quickly I could heal, been fed poison after poison to see if it could kill me, brought to the point of death over and over again..."

"At the time I couldn't comprehend why I was being subjected to such treatment. I asked professor but he could not give me straight answer. He just pleaded with me to be cooperative for Maria's sake—I did. Because every time I defied death, I thought I was taking a step closer to being the cure Maria needed. If I could escape its clutches so many times then surely I could help her do the same..." Red eyes turned to the sky, deep into the vastness of space. Perhaps looking for the place Shadow had once called home. "But in the end it was all in vain."

"...I don't think it was in vain."

Those crimson eyes turned to Sonic once more, this time holding the question themselves. "And why would that be?"

"Well, you might have not succeeded in being the cure that would save Maria but you are the shield that protects others from the same fate."

Shadow looked at the other contemplatively, the agent clearly pondering his words. "...Well, I think I would liken myself more to a sword but if you want to put it like _that_..."

Sonic snickered a little at the other's attempt at humor. "How _edgy,_" he returned in retaliation and the way Shadow turned to stare at him after he uttered the pun was totally _worth_ breaking the serene atmosphere.

Then when it began too much to bear, Sonic's heartfelt laugh sounded across the clearing and when Shadow's more subdued snicker joined him the world seemed just a bit lighter place again.


End file.
